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A Friend in Need by slaymesoftly
 
Seven
 
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CHAPTER SEVEN
 
Buffy jerked her head toward the door, and she and Xander walked out into the main part of the store. Anya had put the closed sign on the door, and everyone was gathered around the table.  Buffy looked around for her mother.
 
“Mom?”
 
“She’s resting on the sofa in my office,” Giles said. “But this is not an ideal situation for her. If you are afraid to take her home, we need to come up with a better plan than this.”
 
“I know,” Buffy sighed, slumping into a chair. “I know. I’d just take her away somewhere, but she has to go back to the doctor next week, and.... I don’t know what to do. If Ben-Glory knows where we live, it just isn’t safe to take her home. Dawn either.”
 
“Why is she interested in Dawn and your mother?” Tara’s question was innocent, but sent Buffy’s eyes skittering to Giles’s.
 
“I think it would only be fair to tell them, Buffy,” he suggested gently. “They are at some risk as well.”
 
Buffy sighed and looked around the table at her friends.  She glanced toward the back of the store where Dawn was keeping her mother company, and nodded.
 
“Here’s the thing, guys. I know we all think we remember Dawn from when she was just a little kid, but we don’t.  The monks that... made her... made her out of me somehow – don’t ask, I don’t even want to know – and put her here for me to protect.  She’s the Key Glory is looking for. Her blood is what Glory needs to open the portal between our world and the hell dimension she’s from.” 
 
She looked around the table at their astounded faces.  “I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. So, not only is Dawn in danger because she could be used as a hostage to get me turn over the Key, but she is the Key. If Glory gets her hands on her.....”
 
“Does Fangface know this?” Xander frowned, casting a glance toward the training room. “About Dawn?”
 
Buffy nodded, putting up a hand to stop him before he could go on. “He wouldn’t tell. Spike likes Dawn. He won’t put her in danger. He’s here to help me protect her.”
 
“Buffy...” Xander shook his head. “How do you know that?  He’s been gone for a year! Left without saying why or telling anybody good-bye, and now he’s back, just when there’s a hellgod looking for your sister? Doesn’t that make you wonder?”
 
A sound from the doorway brought all their heads around to see Spike leaning against the jamb, holding himself up with one hand, his damaged arm hanging at his side.  He looked directly at Buffy, as if asking permission to speak. She nodded, jumping to her feet and helping him to a chair.  Spike took a deep breath and looked right at Xander, who managed to look ashamed and defiant at the same time.
 
“It’s a fair question,” he said, meeting Spike’s gaze.
 
“It is,” Spike surprised everyone by agreeing. “Problem is, most of the answers are nobody’s business but mine and the Slayer’s.  She knew why I left, and why I had to go right then. Said our good-byes, we did.”  He glanced from Xander to Willow and Tara. “Truth be told, it never crossed my mind that anybody else would give a flying fuck if I was gone. So draggin’ it out with a lot of good-byes didn’t seem like a good idea. Said my farewells to the only people I thought cared enough to hear them...” He jerked his head toward the back of the store, wincing when it jarred his head wound.
 
“If I was wrong, I apologize. But I had good reason for leaving, and when the Slayer called me, I had good reason to come back. I’m here to help her keep the Niblet safe. That’s it.”
 
“And then you’ll leave again?” Anya’s sudden intrusion into the conversation brought the attention to her, and no one noticed Buffy’s wide-eyed expression except Spike. He held Buffy’s gaze while he responded.
 
“Reckon that’s up to Buffy,” he said. There were varying amounts of shock and understanding on faces as they all stared from Spike to Buffy and back. The emotion in their locked gazes was hard to miss. A groan from Xander snapped everyone out of their shocked realizations and they all began talking at once.
 
“Well, that was subtle,” Buffy muttered, sitting down in the chair next to Spike’s.
 
“Sorry, pet. Didn’t mean to do that. Guess that whack on my head didn’t do it any good.” He cocked his head at her. “Is it going to be a problem? It’s not like I announced we were engaged again or anything like that.”
 
“No. You didn’t really say anything. I think it was our faces that gave it away.”
 
“That’s assuming there is something to give away....” he said, giving her a hopeful smile.
 
“Don’t....” she began, not sure what she didn’t want him to do. “I—”
 
She never finished as the door was opened and Riley came into the store. Giles turned to Anya. “Didn’t you lock that door?” he whispered.
 
“I thought so,” she whispered back. “Are we keeping Riley out?”
 
“Apparently not,” Giles said, putting on what he hoped was a welcoming expression.  “Hello, Riley.”
 
“Giles.” Riley nodded, his gaze going around the room, halting when he came to the battered vampire sitting next to Buffy.  “Hostile Seventeen. Haven’t seen you around for a while.  Come back to see what else you can steal?”
 
“Steal?” Buffy looked back and forth between Spike and her boyfriend. “What did he steal from you?” She carefully avoided meeting Spike’s eyes, knowing she would see there exactly what he hoped to be stealing from Riley.
 
“That chip in his head. It belongs to the Initiative. We were about to reclaim it when you let him escape with Giles. I never expected to see him back in Sunnydale again.”
 
Buffy gave a guilty start as she remembered how she’d danced around telling Riley that Spike had left Sunnydale with her blessing – and a promise to call him. Being Spike, of course, he couldn’t let it go.
 
“Was needed,” he said, leaning back in his chair as insolently as his wounds would allow him to.
 
Needed?” Buffy winced at Spike’s unfortunate choice of words as Riley had the expected reaction to them. “Who or what would need a neutered vampire?”
 
“Somebody fighting a hellgod all by herself,” Spike snarled back. If he noticed Buffy’s nudge to his foot, he ignored it.
 
“Stop it,” she hissed. He shrugged and settled down to give Riley one of his iciest glares.
 
“Yeah,” Riley laughed, “I can see how well that’s working out for you.  What’s wrong? Did you run into a pack of angry Boy Scouts?”
 
Buffy looked back and forth helplessly as Spike and Riley traded words and glares.
 
“Ran into a hellgod and her scabby minions whilst helping the Slayer get her Mum safely away,” Spike said, again ignoring Buffy’s much stronger nudge.
 
Riley’s expression darkened and he turned on Buffy. “If you needed help to get Joyce home, why didn’t you just call me?”
 
Buffy waved her hands around aimlessly, while giving Spike a look that promised imminent dustiness. “It was all kind of spur-of-the-moment, Riley. We got some new information that meant I needed to get Mom to a safe place. Which probably isn’t our house just now. I didn’t have time to think about calling anybody else. Spike just happened to be there.”
 
“You ‘just happened’ to be at the hospital?” Riley transferred his suspicious glare to Spike. “Why?”
 
“Just takin’ care of one of the women I care about,” Spike said.  “Didn’t know Joyce was goin’ to be released and thought I’d drop in and make sure she was all right.  Already knew the Niblet was okay for the time being, but hadn’t seen Joyce yet.”
 
“Buffy’s family is my responsibility,” Riley said in dangerously calm tones. “They don’t need any help from you.”
 
“They’re my friends,” Spike said stubbornly. He was careful not to look at Buffy as he said it, but Riley was already reading between the lines.
 
“Stay away from Buffy and her family,” he warned, not noticing Buffy’s narrowed eyes.
 
“Not your decision to make, mate.”
 
Before the argument could escalate, Buffy stood up and began to cough violently.
 
“Buffy!”
 
“Slayer? What’s wrong?” 
 
Both men spoke simultaneously. Once she had their attention, Buffy stopped coughing and glared at them both.
 
“What’s wrong,” she ground out, “is that the testosterone in the room is choking me. That’s what’s wrong.”  Xander could be heard snickering from his place near Anya and her cash register, and even Giles had to turn away to hide a smile.  Willow and Tara nodded at each other, while Anya whispered to Xander, causing him to snicker again.
 
“I have a hellgod to kill or avoid for another week or so – that’s the topic of discussion, by the way, in case you guys forgot – a Key to protect from her, a post surgical mother to keep out of Glory’s way, and a little sister who would make a great hostage. And you two, both claiming to want to help, are busy having a pissing contest when we’re supposed to be having a meeting.”
 
She stood rigidly, hands on hips, glaring from Spike to Riley and back.  Neither of them would meet her angry gaze, and the others began to gather around the table again as the storm seemed to have passed.  Finally, Spike pushed himself to his feet, waving Buffy off when she went to help him. 
 
“Want more blood,” he muttered, limping his way toward the training room. “If you need me, I’ll be in my room.”
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
An awkward silence reigned for a few moments, broken when Dawn came out of the back to ask, “Is the yelling all over? Mom wants to lie down again, and it’s time for her meds. Which are in the training room,” she added when they all blinked at her.
 
“We’ll get her,” Willow volunteered. “We—Tara has some healing spells she thinks will help your mom and Spike.”  The two witches went down the hall and were soon back, walking slowly with Joyce between them.  She halted when she saw Riley, her eyes going wide, even as she tried to hide her surprise with a pleasant “Hello, Riley. I didn’t know you were here.”
 
“Apparently I’m not supposed to be,” was his ungracious response as he folded his arms and leaned against a bookcase. “But obviously I should be, so here I am.”
 
The three women continued their slow progress into the training room, where Dawn had already joined Spike and was sitting beside him as he downed another pint of blood. When Joyce tottered into the room, he jumped to his feet, wiping his mouth with his hand.
 
“Joyce!  How do you feel? Can I get you anything? What do you need?”
 
She looked at the still-battered-looking vampire and smiled. “I think you and I constitute the sick and injured ward today.  But thank you. I just need to lie down for a bit and sleep off some more anesthesia. Please, finish your meal.”  Joyce let Tara lead her to the make-shift bed Buffy had thrown together for her and lowered herself with a relieved sigh.  “If no one minds, I think I’d just like to get some more sleep....” She closed her eyes and became still.
 
“Mom?” Dawn’s voice was a soft whimper, and Spike put his hand on her arm.
 
“She’s alright, Bit. Can hear her heartbeat and all. It’s nice and steady and her breathing is regular.  Blood whooshing along like it’s supposed to, and not whooshing anywhere it shouldn’t.”
 
Spike returned to his mat and picked up the almost empty blood container.  “Could use a bit more kip myself, actually,” he said, tipping it up and swallowing. He set the container down and looked at Willow and Tara.
 
“Shouldn’t the two of you be part of the big confab in there?”
 
“They won’t start without us,” Willow said confidently. “Tara wants to... she can do healing spells. If that’s okay with you, she’s going to work a spell to ease the pain and help you heal faster.”
 
“Not gonna cause any spontaneous engagements, is she?” He narrowed his eyes at Willow, but his lips were curling up in a small smile.
 
“Very funny,” she sniffed. “That was just a... an accident.”
 
“Just joshing you, Red. Anything that gets me back on my feet faster, and makes this hole in my chest close up is fine with me.  Go for it.  I’m going to catch a short nap. If they need me out there for anything, somebody can come and get me.” Suiting actions to words, he relaxed back onto the mat and shut his eyes.
 
Holding Willow’s hand for extra power, Tara began to chant softly, waving her free hand over first Spike, then Joyce.  It took only a few moments for her to finish chanting over both of them and give a satisfied smile.
 
“I’ve done what I can. It should help. At a minimum, Joyce will need fewer meds for pain, and when Spike’s vampire healing kicks in, he should be almost good as new.”
 
They turned to go join the others, leaving Dawn torn between staying with Joyce or joining the meeting that was, after all, about her.  Spike raised a hand and beckoned her over.
 
“Go on out there. I’ll keep tabs on your mum. Want to know what’s going on, but I’m too much of a distraction right now. Your sis needs to concentrate on making a plan, not be worrying that the toy soldier and I are going to go at it in the middle of her meeting.”
 
“Could you?” Dawn asked, giving him a shrewd raise of her eyebrow. “Go at it, I mean. Could you?”
 
Without directly saying that his chip was out, he just said, “Not quite the pushover he thinks I am.”
 
She nodded and turned to go. “Is that why you left?” she asked, keeping her back to him. “Did Buffy tell you to go?”
 
“You think too much,” he growled. “Jus’ go listen in and let me get my beauty sleep.”
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Giles filled everyone in on what they knew so far about both Glory and her plans for her Key. 
 
“So, as you can see it is vitally important that we keep the Key away from Glory – not only to avoid the apocalypse opening the portal would initiate, but for... it’s... own safety.” 
 
Without any conversation to that effect, everyone in the group had understood that sharing Dawn’s Key status with Riley might not be a good idea. It wasn’t that anyone doubted his inherent decency or desire to take care of Buffy and her family, but his lack of experience with the supernatural and his need to believe that everything had a scientific explanation – however bizarre it might be – meant that explaining that Dawn was the Key Glory needed so badly would have taken valuable time from planning their strategy.
 
“So, what are we thinking?  She knows where Buffy’s family lives, she knows who most of us are, and now she knows about Spike. How do we stop her from catching somebody Buffy cares about and either torturing the information out of them, or using them to make Buffy tell?”
 
“Just a thought – why the hell doesn’t Buffy just give her the Key and let her go wherever she wants to go?”  Riley looked around the table as if he’d just solved all their problems.
 
“There are a couple of problems with that,” Buffy said. “The only one you need to know about is that where Glory wants to go is back to the hell dimension she calls home.”
 
“So, let her go. Good riddance, isn’t it?”
 
“Would be, if it wasn’t going to require damaging the Key, and if Glory was planning to pull the portal closed behind her.  But even if she did – and she has no reason to – it would destroy whatever might be left of the Key.”
 
Giles cleared his throat. “Perhaps you were not present at the meeting where we discussed what would likely happen when the portal is opened. There would be an open connection between this world and the rather unpleasant place Glory wishes to go.  All the creatures in that dimension would be able to use that portal to pour into our world.  Buffy is a wonderful slayer, but I’m afraid keeping up with the uncounted numbers of demonic beings that would enter our unsuspecting world would be beyond even her amazing capabilities. It would, in all likelihood, presage the end of the world as we know it.”
 
“Then we just need to have control of the Key. Let her use it to open the portal, shove her through, and then use the Key to close it. What difference does it make it if it’s used up?”
 
Dawn jumped to her feet and ran from the room. She went into the training room and threw herself down behind Spike, trying to smother her sobs.
 
“Bit?” His sleepy voice sharpened instantly as he smelled her tears. “Dawn? What’s wrong?” He sat up, his fangs dropping as he looked around for the source of danger. 
 
“R... Riley... he said... “ She gulped and tried to get her breathing under control. “He said... and then I realized... it’s because of me! Glory is doing all this stuff because of me. She’s killing people, and brain-sucking, and beating people up... and trying to kill my sister, and you, and.... And it’s all because of me!  It’s my fault!”
 
“Not your fault, Bit,” he said, putting one arm around her and trying to hold her without pressing her up against the still-open hole in his chest. “It’s not your fault at all.  It is what it is, and your sis’ll do what she always does and make it come out all right.” 
 
“Wh... what if she can’t?  What if Glory kills both of you?  What if she catches me and I open that portal for her? Everybody’s going to die and it will be all my fault!”
 
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